11:15 AM - 12:30 PM
Session B:
Monetizing Your Entertainment Community - Converting Internet Viewers into Paying Customers
There are two goals in the strategic planning of a website. The first is to define and reach your audience, creating traffic and the second is to maintain user interest, develop loyalty, and have them return regularly to your site. At the same time, to maintain the financial integrity of your enterprise, you must convert those users into paying customers. Most strategists believe that banner advertising alone is not a viable long term economic plan. Monetizing your community as an e-commerce site is a necessary companion option. In this session we will explore various ideas in e-commerce applications as they apply to web entertainment users and communities.
Mark Ashida, President & CEO, PassEdge Corporation
Peter Friedman, CEO, Talk City
Brian Napack, CEO and founder, ThinkBox
Timothy Sean Kelly, Director, Internet Media Strategies, NetRatings, part of Nielsen//NetRatings
Daniel Schreiber, CEO & co-founder, Alchemedia
Michael Kassan, President, Media/e-Commerce, Massive Media
Mark Young, CEO, Fandom
Wanda Meloni, Principal, M2 Research, Moderator
Mark Ashida, President and Chief Executive Officer, PassEdge Corporation: Mark Ashida is president and CEO of PassEdge Corporation, a private, application software company that secures content over the Internet, and is based upon technology developed at Intel. Mark has also served as CEO for other communications and Internet companies including T3Plus/OnStream Networking and Internet Profiles, and has held senior management positions at various Internet start-ups. Prior to PassEdge, Mark was principal of the Ashida Consulting Group whose customers included: LSI Logic, Octel, Sun Microsystems, Intel, Wind River Software, and Allergan, where he focused on company development, corporate restructuring and , corporate strategy. Prior to that Mark was a partner in the strategic management practice of Deloitte and Touche called Braxton Associates. Mark holds a master of business administration degree (M.B.A.) from Harvard Business School and a bachelor of arts degree (B.A.) in math/economics fromPomona College Claremont, California.
Peter Friedman, CEO, Talk City: Peter founded Talk City in March 1996 and serves as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board. He sets the vision, goals and strategy of the company, ensuring everyone on the team understands these elements and ensuring a working environment in which they can be effective. He manages the overall operations of the company and represents Talk City within the industry. Above all, he listens and talks to customers, team members and partners, ensuring that all parties truly get to create and engage in the types of communities that are the basis for the underlying mission of Talk City Inc. Peter is one of the few executives in the industry to have launched and managed multiple online services on a global scale, and has an extensive background in the Internet industry. Prior to founding Talk City, Peter served as vice president and general manager of Apple Computer's Internet/online services business unit where he was responsible for research and development, operations, marketing, sales, support, and finance for Apple's online services business worldwide. In that role, he oversaw the launch and growth of eWorld, Apple's acclaimed online Internet-based service, managed and grew Apple's AppleLink business and developed a series of Internet-based services, such as Salon and Youth Central. During his twelve years at Apple, Peter held senior executive positions in business systems marketing, networking and communications and product line management in Apple's Macintosh division. Before joining Apple, Peter was a product line manager for advanced graphics computers at Atari, Inc. He also served as president of Microcomputers for Professionals: Sales and Consulting services, an account executive in the advertising industry, owner of a professional photography studio and a professional magician. Peter holds a B.A. in American History from Brown University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He lives in Northern California, with his wife, two children, and dog.
Brian Napack, CEO and founder, ThinkBox: Brian Napack is an executive and entrepreneur with extensive experience in both the traditional and new media. Before launching ThinkBox, Brian spent five years at Disney, as the Vice President and founder of Disney Educational Publishing. He was also one of the founders of Disney Interactive, and led the development of learning-focused programming in both digital and traditional formats. Previously, Brian was a vice president at Paramount/Simon & Schuster, where he managed marketing and sales activities for the $1.5 billion S&S Education Group, which included Prentice Hall, Silver Burdett & Ginn and Computer Curriculum Corporation. At S&S, Brian led numerous successful strategic initiatives throughout the Consumer, Educational and Professional publishing groups. Earlier, Brian was a management consultant with the multinational firm of A.T. Kearney, Inc. As a consultant, he specialized in strategy, marketing, organizational development and change management for Fortune 500 companies in the publishing, communications, technology and consumer products. A graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, he earned his MBA from Columbia University. Brian also serves as a director and advisor to a number of small ventures in the entertainment, education and technology sectors, as well as a variety of non-profit educational organizations
Timothy Sean Kelly, Director, Internet Media Strategies, NetRatings, Inc: Currently the head of the Internet Media Strategies Service, part of Nielsen//NetRatings, an Internet research company in Milpitas, California. He works in the company's New York offices. As the head of the Internet Media Strategies service, Mr. Kelly oversees the analysis of today's developing Internet media measurements such as local market data, rich and streaming media, connection speed trends, and other key indicators critical to the decision-makers in the media community. Kelly has more than eight years experience in both interactive and traditional media research. Prior to his position with NetRatings, he was the Director of Research and Marketing for the Katz Media Corporation, part of AMFM Inc. While at Katz, he held a number of positions. Most recently, he was responsible for strategic development and planning for the company's radio division, the Katz Radio Group. In addition, he was the Director of Marketing and Research for Katz Millennium Interactive, the predecessor to the interactive network and rep firm commonly known today as 24/7 Media. Kelly earned a B.A. in Mass Communication from Adelphi University and a Master's degree in Cable and Broadcast Management from the S.I. Newhouse School of Syracuse University. He is also proficient in both audio and video production having managed the Adelphi University-affiliated radio station, WBAU-FM.
Daniel Schreiber is CEO and co-founder of Alchemedia: Turning a lifelong passion into market reality, Daniel Schreiber has not only created one of the most innovative companies in high technology, he has responded to a vital need of some of the industry's most creative talent. Daniel not only co-founded Alchemedia, but also molded its strategy, raising venture capital finance and, for the first few years of the company's operations, representing it on press tours, analyst tours and venture capital road shows as its CEO. As leader of the company's product management function, Daniel oversees the design for Alchemedia's current and planned product lines, and helps secure the partnership agreements necessary for their back-end functionality. Daniel's keen understanding of the most important issues facing the high technology industry was gained through his years of experience as an attorney at Herzog, Fox & Ne'eman, Israel's foremost law firm, where he specialized in high tech mergers and acquisitions. In this capacity he worked closely with many high-tech companies ranging from newborn start-ups to Fortune 500 enterprises such as Microsoft, Siemens, Phillips and Hitachi.
Mark Young is the CEO of Santa Monica, CA-based Fandom, Inc. He has a distinguished
business background and brings an entrepreneurial spirit and strong Wall Street ties to Fandom, Inc., along with a proven track record in managing start-up companies from early stage to IPO. Mr. Young joined Fandom in July 1999 from global investment bank Morgan Stanley and Co., where he served as Vice President of Sales and Trading for two years. From 1993-1998 he was Vice President of Sales and Trading at Salomon Brothers. As CFO and Executive Officer of Cambridge Neuroscience (CNS), a venture capital backed Biotechnology Company, Young successfully managed three rounds of venture financing. In 1991, four years after its formation, Young guided CNS through its initial public offering, raising nearly $50 million for investors and shareholders. Prior to CNS, Mr. Young spent seven years as a CPA at Price Waterhouse Coopers, where he was a senior manager specializing in emerging growth companies. He received a B.S. in accounting from Boston College, where he graduated with honors, and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.Wanda Meloni, Principal, M2 Research: The Principal of M2 Research, located in
San Diego, California, Wanda Meloni is a market analyst and visionary covering the convergence of digital media for the entertainment and e-commerce industries including streaming technologies, gaming, desktop video production, animation and web development. M2 Research publishes timely and insightful market research reports on a variety of market sensitive topics and consults with the leading technology vendors and content providers in the digital media industry. For nearly ten years Ms. Meloni has been on the cutting edge of tracking digital media technologies and applications, as well as consulting with companies on their strategic marketing and development plans. Before founding M2Research in 1999, she was a senior analyst with Jon Peddie Associates where she covered the 3D graphics software market. And Prior to her work with JPA, Ms. Meloni worked with a variety of software tools vendors, content providers, and game developers directing strategic planning, marketing and product development. Ms. Meloni holds an MBA in International Business from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She is a frequent contributor to the industry’s leading trade publications and has a monthly research column on DigitalMediaNet, and is frequently quoted in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, Red Herring Magazine, Computer Graphics World, and SGI World.Michael E. Kassan is President, Media/e-commerce and partner (with Frank Biondi, Ho
ward Weitzman and Greg Meidel) in the newly-launched Massive Media Group (MMG), a technology driven company focusing on providing digital rights management enabled applications and services to the entertainment and advertising markets. MMG recently announced a major digital rights management partnership with InterTrust. In addition, Mr. Kassan is an investor and a member of the Board of Directors of Reward TV, a convergent TV/internet concept company. Also, he is an investor and a member of the Board of Directors of Triangle Industries, an international leader in logistics and c-commerce fulfillment. Further, he is an investor and a member of the Advisory Boards of Reelplay.com, LuxuryFinder.com, and Odimo.com. Prior to launching MMG, Kassan was most recently the president and vice chairman, Western Initiative Media Worldwide, the largest and most diversified media management company in the world, with more than 75 offices in North America, Europe and Asia. In 1997, he was named one of the top media executives in America by Advertising Age magazine. Mr. Kassan joined Western Initiative Media Worldwide in 1994 and was instrumental in the sale of the company to The Interpublic Group of Companies. While there he oversaw the day-to-day operations in North America and was the architect of the firm’s international expansion. Previously, Mr. Kassan was of counsel to the Los Angeles law firm of Christensen, Miller, Fink, Jacobs, Glaser, Weil & Shapiro. He had been president and chief operating officer of International Video Entertainment (Artisan Entertainment). Mr. Kassan is a director and advisor to many charitable and community organizations, currently serving on the board of the Hollywood Radio and Television Society, and previously serving on the Commission on California state Government Organization and Economy. He also has been chairman of the Senate Select Committee on the Entertainment Industry in California and in 1998 was elected to the Board of the American Advertising Federation. Mr. Kassan serves on the following boards as Director: H.E.L.P. Group, Big Brothers of Los Angeles, Stephen S. Weiss Temple and Skirball Cultural Center.